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☆ Hamas officials say group willing to disarm if Palestinian state is established
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Abbas Allawati | Abbas Al Lawati | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Palestinian militant group has long called for the Jewish state to be destroyed. Basem Naim, an Istanbul-based member of Hamas’ political bureau, told CNN on Thursday that the group would agree to disarm if an independent Palestinian state was established. Hamas has traditionally rejected a two-state solution that would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel and has instead advocated the creation of a Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine that today encompasses Israel, the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza. Barghouti said Hamas indicated as far back as 2007, when it led a Palestinian national unity government, that it is willing to accept a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha that Hamas is willing to function solely as a political party once a Palestinian state is created, citing meetings between the group and Turkish officials.

Persons: Basem Naim, Al Qassam, ”, Mustafa Barghouti, Efraim Inbar, Israel ”, Israel “, Netanyahu, Khalil al, Hayya, ” Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hayyah, Barghouti, Naim, Hakan Fidan, “ Organizations: CNN, Palestinian, Hamas, Israel, West Bank, Palestinian National Initiative, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, Security, Associated Press, AP, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Oslo Accords, Turkish, Qatari Locations: Israel, Gaza, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Palestinian, Palestine, East Jerusalem, United States, Israeli, Oslo, Doha, Turkish

☆ Palestinian factions seek unity at Moscow meeting as Russia vies for greater role in Gaza war
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Abbas Allawati | Analysis Abbas Al Lawati | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Palestinian factions, some of whom have been at odds for almost two decades, are meeting in Moscow to discuss forming a new government just days after the Palestinian Authority government resigned. Hamas, which is fighting a war with Israel in Gaza that has killed more than 30,000 people in the enclave, is attending the talks, according to Russian media. Analysts say that Hamas joining the PLO would be a significant development, given that it could potentially unify the Palestinian factions and create a consensus cabinet. Despite the PLO’s recognition of Israel, Hamas joining the bloc wouldn’t mean that it would automatically acknowledge it, he added. Moscow had offered to mediate between Hamas and Israel soon after the war started, touting its ties to all regional stakeholders.

Persons: Hussein Hamayel, ”, Khaled Elgindy, Fatah, Riyad al, Maliki, “, Israel, Elgindy, Anna Borshchevskaya, Russia’s, Vladimir Putin “, CNN’s Matog Saleh, Celine Alkhaldi Organizations: CNN, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Fatah, Wednesday, Hamas, Middle East Institute, Washington DC, West Bank, West Bank . PA, Reuters, Washington Institute for Near, West Locations: Moscow, Israel, Gaza, Washington, Oslo, United States, Russia, Policy, Russian, Elgindy

☆ In the West Bank, an independent Palestine remains a distant dream
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Ramallah and Jerusalem CNN —The world is once again talking about a Palestinian state. Under the Oslo Accords peace agreement, the West Bank has been split into three distinct areas, depending on who is in charge. Israel has full administrative and security control over 60% of the West Bank area, which it continues settling its citizens in. Earlier this month, Biden issued an executive order imposing sanctions on four settlers accused of directly perpetrating violence or intimidation in the West Bank. It was largely here that the plans for a future Palestinian state and its institutions were drawn up.

Persons: Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Khalil Shikaki, ”, Ivana Kottasova, “, Israel, –, Biden, CNN Diana Buttu, , it’s, Buttu, ” Buttu, “ We’re, Jo Shelley, Shikaki, Sojoud, Mahmoud Abbas, ” Shikaki, Adnan Joulani, David, Cameron Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Palestinian Center, Policy, Survey Research, CNN, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Orient House, Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel, International Court of Justice, Oslo Accords, Fatah, PLO, Israeli Police, Palestinian, Society, International Affairs, British Locations: Ramallah, Jerusalem, Palestinian, Israel, United States, Palestine, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Oslo, South Africa, Old City, Orient

☆ UNRWA: What we know about Israel’s allegations against UN staffers in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Hira Humayun | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has fired several employees in the wake of the allegations, which have not been made public. UNRWA was established by the United Nations after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to provide humanitarian assistance for displaced Palestinians. At least 152 UNRWA staffers have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to the agency. Neither Israel nor UNRWA have specified the nature of the alleged involvement of UNRWA employees in the events of October 7, nor did they specify the number of employees allegedly involved. “A case was compiled by the Intelligence Directorate, incriminating several UNRWA employees for their alleged involvement in the massacre, along with evidence pointing to the use of UNRWA facilities for terrorist purposes,” the IDF statement said.

Persons: Israel, –, Philippe Lazzarini, “, ”, ’, António Guterres, Guterres, United Nations Gilad Erdan, Syria hadn’t, Benjamin Netanyahu, Micheál Martin tweeting, ” Mustafa Barghouthi, Husseim Al, Sheick, Yoav Gallant, Israel Katz, Lazzarini, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey, Benjamin Brown, Heather Law, AJ Davis, Ibrahim Hazboun, Rob Iddiols, Amir Tal, Akanksha Sharma, Lauren Izso, Caitlin Hu Organizations: CNN, UN, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, UNRWA, United Nations, United Nations ’, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Saturday, Intelligence, UN Security, US State Department, Palestinian National Initiative, International, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Israel’s, Foreign, The Agency Locations: Gaza, Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany

☆ Britain, Italy and Finland Pause Funding for UN Refugee Agency in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain, Italy and Finland on Saturday became the latest countries to pause funding for the United Nations' refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), following allegations its staff were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. It helps about two thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million population and has played a pivotal aid role during the current war. The United States, Australia and Canada had already paused funding to the aid agency after Israel said 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the cross-border attack. "We call on countries that announced the cessation of their support for UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision," he said on X. (Reporting by James Davey in London and Gavin Jones in Rome, Editing by William Maclean and Andrew Cawthorne)

Persons: Israel, Antonio Tajani, Hussein al, James Davey, Gavin Jones, William Maclean, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Saturday, United Nations, West Bank, UNRWA, Foreign Office, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO Locations: Britain, Italy, Finland, Israel, Israel's, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, United States, Australia, Canada, Palestinian, London, Rome

☆ Gaza endgame: Inching toward a deal to end the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Elliott Gotkine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

On Monday Axios reported Israel had proposed a two-month truce in exchange for the release of all the 100-plus hostages still held in Gaza. The sticking point there appears to be that Hamas wants a “package deal” which would include a second-phase agreement to end the war. For now, though, such talk remains moot, with an Israeli official telling CNN there’s no concrete deal on the table. “But at the same time we can’t gamble on the future of Israel [by leaving Hamas in control of Gaza]. Any deal Israel is looking to seal, says Ziv, would be more likely to come into effect once the Khan Younis operation is complete.

Persons: Ofer Shelah, Axios, Israel, David Barnea, Yahya, Shelah, ”, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Thani, Antony Blinken, it’s, wouldn’t, Yasser Arafat, Israel doesn’t, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Aviva Siegel, Netanyahu, Israel Ziv, there’s, ” Ziv, Khan Younis, Ziv, There’s, Israel’s, Gadi, “ Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, Street Journal, Reuters, Qatari, ’, Israel, Israel Democracy Institute Locations: Gaza, Israel, Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, Beirut, Tunis, United States, “ Israel

☆ Explainer-What Is the Two-State Solution to the Israel-Palestinian Conflict?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

Obstacles have long impeded the two-state solution, which envisages Israeli and Palestinian states alongside each other. Advocates of the two-state solution have envisaged a Palestine in the Gaza Strip and West Bank linked by a corridor through Israel. As the two-state solution has floundered, talk of a one-state solution has risen. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a Jan. 23 speech, said the two-state solution remained the only way to address the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians. He criticised "clear and repeated rejection of the two-state solution at the highest levels of the Israeli government".

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Rabin, Bill Clinton, Arafat, Ehud Barak, Camp David, Jerusalem, Joe Biden, Abdel Fattah al, Abbas, Mahmoud Abbas, Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu, Abbas's Fatah, Biden, Osama Hamdan, General Antonio Guterres, Nidal al, Ali Sawafta, Maayan Lubell, Dan Williams, Ari Rabinovitch, Tom Perry, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, United Nations, Arab League, Israel, West Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Palestinian Authority, Israeli, Bank, Geneva Accord, Finance Locations: Washington, Gaza, Palestinian, Jordan, Jerusalem, Palestine, Europe, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, East Jerusalem, Egypt, U.S, Oslo, Israeli, West Bank, Jordanian, Oslo Accords, U.N

On December 22, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for further extended humanitarian pauses to allow more aid into Gaza. People carry some of their belongings as they walk to Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 4, fleeing central Gaza. But even as foreign aid to Gaza rose in the wake of the Hamas takeover, the amount of aid fluctuates annually, OECD data shows. In 2018, the Trump administration cut about $200 million in Palestinian aid and halted contributions to UNRWA. Medicine for Israeli hostages and Palestinians entered Gaza last Wednesday after Qatar brokered a deal with Israel and Hamas.

Persons: Khan Younis, —, Majdi, Fatah, Mohammed Abed, ”, Yara Asi, Israel, René Wildangel, Wildangel, ” Asi, Trump, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, United Nations, West Bank, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Service, Aid, World Health Organization, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, UN, Assembly, UNRWA, IDF, UN Security, World Food, Palestinian, Statistics, World Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, West Bank ., Getty, University of Central, “, International Hellenic University, Amnesty, Palestinian Central Bureau, European Union, Organization for Economic Co, Development, Obama, Qatar Locations: Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, UN, Rafah, South Africa, Oslo Accords, AFP, Palestine, University of Central Florida, Oslo, Thessaloniki, Greece, United States, Europe, Qatar

South Africa’s genocide case has put the spotlight on a deeper fault line in global geopolitics. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty ImagesReactions from the Global North to the ICJ case have been mixed. “This war is a war that is not only between Israel and Hamas,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog told MSNBC in December. “It’s a war that is intended – really, truly – to save Western civilization, to save the values of Western civilization.”So far, no Western countries have supported South Africa’s case against Israel. Traditionally, the West has wielded significant influence in international affairs, but South Africa’s move signals a growing assertiveness among Global South nations that threatens the status quo, says Adekoya.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, ”, Nesrine Malik, ” Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Jaafar Ashtiyeh, Biden, ” Remi Adekoya, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, ” Hugh Lovatt, Garry Andrew Lotulung, ” Lovatt, Lovatt, Israel –, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Alaister Russell, Isaac Herzog, Hage Geingob, Berlin’s, Namibians, ” Adekoya Organizations: CNN, Israel, International Court of Justice, Guardian, Hamas, West Bank, Getty, US, UN, University of York, Palestine Liberation Organization, North Africa, European Council, Foreign Relations, Global, Arab League, ICJ, West, ”, International, MSNBC, ZDF, Dhaka Tribune, Germany Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Israel, The Hague, Gaza, South, Africa, Sudanese, United States, Europe, Ramallah, West, AFP, England, PLO, East, Indonesian, Jakarta, Indonesia, Anadolu, China, Soviet, Ekurhuleni, Germany, German, Germany’s, Namibia, Namibian, Bangladesh, Pakistan

☆ Explainer-What's the Israel-Palestinian Conflict About and How Did It Start?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +8 min

The conflict pits Israeli demands for security in what it has long regarded as a hostile Middle East against Palestinians' unmet aspirations for a state of their own. In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Two-state solution: An agreement that would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. Israel has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarised so as not to threaten its security. Jerusalem: Palestinians want East Jerusalem, which includes the walled Old City's sites sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians alike, to be the capital of their state.

Persons: David Ben, Gurion, Israel, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Arafat, Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak, Donald Trump's, Joe Biden's, Trump, Edmund Blair, Timothy Heritage Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, Arab League, West Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Palestinian, European Union, U.S, Israel Locations: Israel, East, Palestine, British, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Egypt, Israeli, Suez, Golan, Lebanon's Iran, United States, Oslo, Arab, Palestinian, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, U.S

According to three regional sources, Israel related its plans to its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, along with the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020. He declined to offer details when asked whether those plans had been raised with international partners, including Arab states. A U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said Israel had "floated" the buffer zone idea without saying to whom. The regional sources compared the Gaza buffer zone plan to the "security zone" Israel once had in south Lebanon. "The buffer zone could make (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's forces a target also in the zone," he said.

Persons: Ronen, Israel, Abu Dhabi, Ophir Falk, Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanon's, it's, Mohammad Dahlan, Benjamin, Netanyahu's, Samia Nakhoul, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Jonathan Saul, Dan Williams, Aidan Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland, Edmund Blair, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Saudi, Reuters, U.S, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Palestinian Fatah, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Gaza Israel, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, U.S, DUBAI, CAIRO, LONDON, Israel, Riyadh, Arab Turkey, Qatar, Qatari, Turkish, Palestinian, Cairo, Lebanon, PLO, Dubai, London, Jerusalem, Washington

☆ Opinion: Bad behavior test isn’t just about George Santos
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Michael Ryan | Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

What they do results from neurons firing in assorted regions of the brain, the product of an array of causes they can’t control. Every now and then someone bursts out crying — a member of his family has been killed, or his house destroyed. • Join us on Twitter and FacebookThere was no visible sign of progress on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Writing before the summit, Frida Ghitis noted, “Biden may want Xi to help bring down the temperature on the world’s ongoing wars and help prevent new ones from igniting. “Today’s miseries of flying derive from this choice to deregulate airlines and unleash them into the Hunger Games of ordinary incentives.

Persons: Robert M, Sapolsky, ”, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Douglas Heye, Tim Burchett, Kevin McCarthy, elbowing, McCarthy, Heye, Burchett, tortuously, Mike Johnson, Johnson, George Santos, “, ” Drew Sheneman, Julian Zelizer, Santos, ” “ Santos, Trump, ” Zelizer, John Avlon, Clay Jones, Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley's, Nikki Haley, Haley, she’d, Cupp, Hussein Ibish, ” “, Israel —, Abbas —, Fatma, Khan Younis, there’s, —, Jessica Rosenberg, Joe Biden, ” Biden, Rosenberg, “ Biden, “ Aviva Klompas, speechwriting, Laden, Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergen ,, bin, bin Laden, ’, Walt Handelsman, Joan Steinau Lester, Xi Dana Summers, Biden, Xi Jinping, Frida Ghitis, Xi, ” Peter Bergen, Juvenal, Stephen I, Vladeck, they’ll, Stephen Brobeck, ” Trump’s, Donald Trump, Dean Obeidallah, “ I’m, Barack Obama, Peter Bergen, Megan Fox, Mike Coppola, Megan Fox isn’t, Patricia Grisafi, Tupac Shakur, Billy Corgan, Alicia Keys, Mary Lambert, Florence Welch, Halsey, Lana del Rey, Bob Dylan, Grisafi, Ganesh Sitaraman, Sitaraman, ” Don’t, Fareed Zakaria, Jill Filipovic, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Judi Ketteler, Noah Berlatsky, Nicolas, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, Daniel Escale, Holly Thomas, Princess Diana, irresistibly, ” Thomas, Prince Charles ’, Camilla Parker, Bowles, Mohamed Al, Dodi, Spencer, Diana cavorting Organizations: CNN, Teamsters, House Republican, “ Tennessee Republican, Democrats, George Santos of New, Content Agency Santos, Long Island Republicans, GOP, Guinness, World Records, Democrat, CNN Former UN, New Hampshire, Trump, Fox News, West Bank, Gulf States Institute, Fatah, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, “ Aviva, United Nations, Guardian, Agency, Biden, San Francisco Wednesday, China, Twitter, Consumer Federation of America, Democratic, Fox, “, Hunger Games, Liberty ’, Netflix Locations: George Santos of, George Santos of New York, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New, Israel, Gaza, Washington, Gaza City, Minneapolis, Iran, United States, America, al Qaeda, San, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Kansas City , Missouri, New Hampshire, Nazi Germany, Ohio, Al

☆ Israel is tightening its control of northern Gaza. But there is no clear post-war strategy in sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN —The Israeli military is tightening its grip on northern Gaza, as its war on the Hamas militant group is showing no signs of abating. Almost six weeks into the conflict, however, Israel is yet to offer a clear post-war plan for the territory. The Israeli military raided Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, on Wednesday after claiming that Hamas had built a command center beneath the sprawling medical complex. The United States has warned against Israel re-occupying Gaza, and has stressed a future role there for the Palestinian Authority (PA). Video Ad Feedback Netanyahu appeared to rule out giving the Palestinian Authority control of post-war Gaza.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, Israel, Khan Younis, Fatima Shbair, ” Frank Lowenstein, Barack Obama, “, ” Lowenstein, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “ Israel, ”, Daniel Levy, CNN’s Dana Bash, Levy, I’m, ” Levy, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, CNN Kobi Michael, Mahmoud Abbas, –, Abbas, Fadel Senna, Lina Khatib, ” Khatib, CNN’s Becky Anderson, Michael of INSS, Lowenstein Organizations: UAE CNN, Israeli, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Al, Palestinian, CNN, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, of Housing, United, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Health Ministry, West Bank, Institute for National Security Studies, Palestinian Center, Policy, Research, West Bank . Lowenstein, Regional, Getty, United Arab Emirates, SOAS, East Institute, PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel’s Ministry, Strategic Affairs, UN Conference, Trade, Development, UNCTAD, UN, Programme, Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, UNDP, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israel Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Gaza’s, Al, Khan, “, London, New York, United States, Ramallah, Tel Aviv, ”, Israeli, AFP, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab, Palestinian, Palestine

☆ Opinion: Why Israel’s divide-and-rule approach towards Palestinians backfired so spectacularly
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Opinion Hussein Ibish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Why Ending the Occupation and Peace with Israel is Still the Palestinian National Goal.” The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Hamas’ unwavering commitment to armed struggle and violence allowed the Israeli right to paint the entire Palestinian national movement as hopelessly extreme. He reportedly said that this was part of Israel’s strategy — to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank. But the old, infirm and chain-smoking politician, who at least has time and again proven his unwavering rejection of violence as a Palestinian national strategy, represents exactly this trend among Palestinians. The Biden administration appears to understand the challenge in theory, but how much they can or will do to implement such a revised policy towards the Palestinian political scene is uncertain at best.

Persons: Hussein Ibish, Read, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat, DAVID AKE, Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah, Netanyahu, Hussein, Abbas, Christy Bowe, Israel’s, Yasser Arafat’s, it’s, It’s, Biden, Israel —, Abbas — Organizations: Gulf States Institute, CNN, West Bank, Fatah, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Hamas, Palestinian, Muslim, White, AFP, Getty, UN, Israel, White House, ImageCatcher Locations: Washington, Israel, Gaza, Oslo Accords, AFP, Oslo, Israeli, Palestinian, Jerusalem, Middle, Abbas

☆ Al Shifa: Gaza's largest hospital in the headlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Stephen Farrell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Al Shifa Hospital, hit by missiles on Friday, is the largest in the 360-sq-km Gaza Strip. In recent weeks Israel has said Hamas militants have hidden command centres and tunnels beneath it and other hospitals. REDESIGN AND ENLARGEMENTDuring the 1980s, the hospital complex was revamped and redesigned by Israeli architects, according to Israeli news reports. Zvi Elhyani, founder of the Israel Architecture Archive, wrote on Ynet on Nov. 9: "With the aid of American support, Israel embarked on a project to revamp and enlarge the hospital complex.

Persons: Doaa, Israel, Shifa, Zvi Elhyani, Yasser Arafat’s Fatah, Fatah, Stephen Farrell, Nidal Al, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Al Shifa Hospital, Britain, New York Times, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Fatah, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Al Shifa, Israel, Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine, London, Shifa, Oslo, Mughrabi

☆ Gaza Activist on Speaking Tour in France Faces Deportation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS (Reuters) - A French court has approved the deportation of Palestinian activist Mariam Abudaqa, who came to France for a speaking tour in September and was put under house arrest after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza by Israel's retaliatory assault on the enclave. "We are supposed to die without even saying ouch, without expressing pain," said Abudaqa of her arrest and speaking ban on Tuesday before the court decision came. The Conseil d'Etat, France's highest administrative court, based its ruling on Abudaqa's membership of the PFLP, stating that she occupies a "leadership" position. The court ruling does not specify by what date Abudaqa must leave and where she must go.

Persons: Mariam Abudaqa, overturns, Liberation of, Abudaqa, Pierre Stambul, hadn't, Layli Foroudi, Antonia Cimini, Christina Fincher Organizations: PARIS, Hamas, Popular Front, Liberation, Liberation of Palestine, Palestine, PFLP, Palestinian Liberation Organisation, PLO, UN, EU, Union of Locations: France, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Union of French, Peace, Egypt

☆ 'From the river to the sea:' What to know about the pro-Palestine slogan that's roiling American politics right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rep. Rashida Tlaib is facing condemnation for endorsing the phrase "from the river to the sea." Here's what you should know about the current controversy over the slogan — as well as its origins and contemporary use. Towards the end of that video, a crowd of pro-Palestine protestors in Michigan can be heard chanting the slogan. In other words, the slogan did originate as a call for the dismantling of Israel as a Jewish state. All of it, from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, and we are not here to apologize for this."

Persons: —, Rashida, Tlaib, Joe Biden, Democrats —, Dana Nassel, Brad Schneider of, Tlaib's, Maha Nassar, Yasser Arafat, Nassar, Israel, Yousef Munayyer, Munayyer, It's, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Jordan Organizations: West Bank, Service, Palestine, Michigan Democrat, Twitter, Democrats, Jewish Democrat, Punchbowl News, Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Palestinian, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Likud Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestine, Jordan, Michigan, American, Brad Schneider of Illinois, Palestinian, Algeria, Jerusalem

☆ Blinken visits West Bank to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Blinken told Abbas that the Palestinian Authority should play a central role in what comes next in the Gaza Strip, a senior State Department official told Reuters. Abbas told Blinken there should be an immediate ceasefire and that aid should be allowed into Gaza, according to spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh. Abbas' Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has seen its popularity shrivel amid allegations of graft, incompetence and widely hated security cooperation arrangements with Israel. The meeting was Blinken’s second with Abbas since the conflict began, but the first to take place in the West Bank. Blinken and Abbas "discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible," Miller said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, General Hussein al, Mahmoud Abbas, Blinken, Israel, Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Matthew Miller, Miller, Jordan, Simon Lewis, Ali Sawafta, Hugh Lawson, Alexander Smith Organizations: PLO, Hamas, West Bank, Sunday, Palestinian Authority, State Department, Reuters, Palestinian, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Ramallah, RAMALLAH, Gaza, United States, Egypt

☆ Opinion: Israel-Hamas war’s endgame
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. Last week, as Israel continued its military response to the October 7 Hamas terror attack, its political goals — and potential endgame — remained a source of huge controversy. Join us on Twitter and Facebook“Take, for example, the Israel Defense Forces strike on Gaza’s Jabalya refugee camp on Tuesday. “Following the horrific massacre in Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7, I felt an intense, relentless grief. Though Perry wanted to escape Chandler, he kept him around, because heaven forbid anyone saw what he was hiding.”

Persons: Gideon Rose, ”, ” Rose, —, Joe Biden, Robert A . Pape, “, ” DJ Rosenthal, Obama, ’ inhumanity, Jordan, Antony Blinken, ” Shai Davidai, Nadia AbuShaban, Hashem, David Shulkin, Peter Bergen, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Karl Rove, “ Mike Pence, Geoff Duncan, Nikki Haley, Duncan, Ron DeSantis, ” Haley, DeSantis, Lisa Benson, GoComics.com, Michael Ramirez, Trump, Norman Eisen, Joshua Kolb, Donald Trump’s, ” Eisen, Kolb, Leah Abucayan, CNN Maggie Jackson, ” She’s, Gabriel Levin, Frida Ghitis, ‘ Allahu akbar, ’, Ghitis, Wen, Julian Zelizer, Johnson’s, Mike Johnson’s, Biden, ” Paul Krugman, Johnson, Mike Johnson, ’ ”, John Avlon, “ Merriam, It’s, Benjamin Franklin, ’ ” Drew Sheneman, Nicole Hemmer, SBF Clay Jones, Sam Bankman, Howard Fischer, ” Fischer, Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn, “ Chillingly, Taylor, Compton, Hamlyn, Walt Handelsman, Laura Tillman, ” Don’t, Jill Filipovic, Celia Wexler, Pope Francis, Elena Sheppard, ‘, Matthew Perry, Chandler Bing Reisig, Dean Obeidallah, Perry, Chandler Bing, Chandler, ” “ Chandler, I’m Chandler, ‘ I’m, ” Perry, ” Holly Thomas, “ Perry, Roger Organizations: CNN, University of Chicago, ”, Hamas, US National Security Council, Twitter, Facebook, Israel Defense Forces, Israel, Columbia Business School, “, New York Times, Street Journal, GOP, Republican, Trump, UN, Florida Gov, Wednesday’s GOP, Supreme, White, Cornell University, The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell, Progressives, Internal Revenue Service, Congressional, Office, Electoral College, America, Agency, FBI, NBCU, Bank, Getty Locations: States, Iraq, Israel, Southern Lebanon, Lebanon, Palestinian, “ Israel, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Tel Aviv, Gaza, ”, Florida, Wednesday’s, Rhode, Rhode Island, Dagestan, Russian, Lewiston , Maine

Blinken met first with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose economically and politically ravaged country is home to Hezbollah — an Iranian-backed force hostile to Israel. Blinken also discussed U.S. efforts to secure humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, Miller said.. Neither Blinken nor Mikati spoke to reporters at the top of their meeting in an Amman hotel. Blinken was then to meet with the head of the United Nations agency in charge of assisting Palestinian refugees. All parties have denounced Israel’s tactics against Hamas, which they say constitutes unlawful collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, Najib Mikati, Hassan Nasrallah, Mikati, ”, Matthew Miller, Miller, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Ayman al, Israel Organizations: —, Hamas, Department, United Nations, UNRWA, United Arab, PLO, Jordanian, Palestinian Authority Locations: AMMAN, Jordan, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Jordanian, Iranian, The U.S, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, U.S, Palestinian

☆ Divides remain between US and Arab partners after Blinken meets counterparts in Jordan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Amman, Jordan CNN —Sharp divides persisted between the United States and its Arab partners on their response to Israel’s war against Hamas after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Middle Eastern counterparts in Amman, Jordan on Saturday. Blinken again called for Israel to “take every possible measure” to prevent civilian casualties – a message he had relayed in meetings in Tel Aviv on Friday. Still, following his meetings in Amman, Blinken sought to emphasize the points of common interest between the US and its regional partners. “I think we all share deep concern about the plight of civilians in Gaza – men, women and children,” he said. Although the US believes the current flow of 100 to 120 trucks a day into Gaza is sustainable, “it’s challenged by the environment on the ground in South Gaza,” Satterfield said.

Persons: Jordan CNN — Sharp, Antony Blinken, Blinken, ”, Sameh Shoukry, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, ” Blinken, “ We’ve, David Satterfield, Satterfield, it’s, ” Satterfield, “ That’s Organizations: Jordan CNN, Hamas, Saturday, Jordanian Foreign, United Arab, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Middle East Locations: Amman, Jordan, United States, Amman , Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Israel, Tel Aviv, Wadi Gaza, Rafah, ”, South Gaza

☆ Opinion: There’s a smarter way for Israel to eliminate Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Opinion Robert A. Pape | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

To defeat terrorist groups like Hamas, it is important to separate the terrorists from the local population from which they emerge. Right now, we are witnessing not the separation of Hamas and the local population, but the growing integration of the two, with likely growing recruitment for Hamas. The only viable way to separate Hamas from the local population is politically. This could, over time, separate Hamas from the local population more and more, and so lead to significant success. This new strategic conception is the best way to defeat Hamas, secure Israel’s population and advance America’s interests in the region.

Persons: Robert A . Pape, Read, CNN —, —, Robert A, Pape Robert Pape Indeed, Maz Nash, Israel, Mohammed Abed, Ben Curtis, Saddam Hussein’s, Saddam Hussein, Chris Hondros, Israel doesn’t Organizations: University of Chicago Project, Security, “, Power, CNN, West Bank, Getty, Beirut International Airport, ISIS, Hamas, Palestinian Ministry of Health Locations: Israel, United States, Southern Lebanon, Lebanon, Beirut, Gaza, Gaza City, AFP, Iraq, Al, Kut, Ramallah, Syria, Palestinian

☆ Norway Believes Israel May Have Not Fully Respected International Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Alexander CornwellABU DHABI (Reuters) - Norway believes Israel may have broken international law in its bombardment of Gaza that has levelled neighbourhoods and killed thousands of Palestinians, its foreign minister said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters in an interview that while Oslo supports Israel's right to self-defence, humanitarian law must be adhered to. Israel started its offensive after Hamas attacks on southern Israel on Oct.7 which authorities there say killed 1,400 people. He said that satellite images that showed entire areas bombed, homes of thousands of people destroyed and medical facilities attacked as being "clearly problematic" from an international humanitarian law perspective. "This is not only important from a legal perspective, it's also important because there will come a time where we have to look for political solutions," Barth Eide said.

Persons: Alexander Cornwell ABU DHABI, Espen Barth Eide, Israel, Barth Eide, it's, Alexander Cornwell, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, United, United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Liberation Organization, PLO, Oslo Accords, Israel Locations: Norway, Israel, Gaza, Oslo, United Arab, Israel's, Abu Dhabi, Iran

☆ What is Hamas, the Palestinian group at war with Israel?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack from Gaza into Israel on Oct. 7, triggering an Israel-Hamas war that marked the most serious escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in many years. It is designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, European Union, Canada, Egypt and Japan. Hamas's 1988 founding charter called for the destruction of Israel, although Hamas leaders have at times offered a long-term truce, or Hudna in Arabic, with Israel in return for a viable Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. Since then, there have been numerous rounds of conflict with Israel, often involving Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel and Israeli airstrikes and bombardment of Gaza. Although a Sunni Muslim group, Hamas is part of a regional alliance comprising Iran, Syria and the Shi'ite Islamist group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which all broadly oppose U.S. policy in the Middle East and Israel.

Persons: Suhaib, Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas, Deen al, Mohammed Deif, Tom Perry, Stephen Farrell, Nick Macfie Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Movement, Muslim Brotherhood, West Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, REUTERS, WHO, THE, Brigades, Hezbollah, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Egypt, United States, European Union, Canada, Japan, Oslo, Gaza City, Suhaib Salem, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, East, Qatar

☆ One month on, the Israel-Hamas conflict explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The conflict has led to a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with more than 10,000 people killed there, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah. Unlike some other Palestinian factions, Hamas refuses to engage with Israel and does not recognize its right to exist. Palestinian Hamas members in Gaza City ride an armored vehicle seized from Fatah, a rival Palestinian political party, during a celebration rally in June 2007. The Pentagon last month ordered a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean and sent Air Force fighter jets to the region. On Israel’s northern border, Iran-backed Hezbollah has engaged in an exchange of fire since the Gaza war began.

Persons: CNN —, Fadel Senna, Israel hasn’t, Abed Rahim Khatib, Israel, Abid Katib, Yahya Hassouna, Joe Biden, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Netanyahu, –, Hussein Malla, Houthis, General Hassan Nasrallah Organizations: CNN, Palestinian, Hamas, United Nations, Getty, Al, Najjar, European Union, Oslo Accords, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Israel, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Fatah, Humanitarian Affairs, UN’s, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, World Health Organization, WHO, UN, US, Pentagon, Air Force Locations: CNN — Israel, Gaza, Israel, Ramallah, Jerusalem, AFP, Aqsa, Gaza City, Rafah, Egypt, United States, Oslo, Palestinian, Sinai, Jordan, Iran, Washington, Qatar, Aita, Lebanese, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen’s Iran

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